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Lake Christina Enhancement Project Kickoff Celebration [UPDATED]
Published 9:19pm Monday, August 30, 2010 Updated 9:19pm Monday, August 30, 2010WHAT: Ducks Unlimited’s Living Lakes Initiative project kickoff ceremony to celebrate the start of the Lake Christina enhancement project near Ashby in Douglas and Grant Counties, Minn. The 4,000-acre project is DU’s flagship shallow lake enhancement project that was made possible by a 2009 grant to DU from the first year of the Outdoor Heritage Fund as recommended by the Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council for the acceleration of shallow lake restoration and enhancement throughout the state. Construction crews will install a permanent electric pump station that will allow the Minnesota DNR to conduct periodic temporary water level draw-downs of Lake Christina to enhance its aquatic ecology for ducks and other migratory birds. DU recently awarded a construction contract for the $1.5 million project, and work will start in September. The pump project has been six years in the making.
WHO: Media and interested wetland and waterfowl conservationists are invited to attend. Speakers will include representatives from the partner organizations who are contributing to this project. Partners include Ducks Unlimited, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Council, Lake Christina-Ina-Anka Lake Association, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pioneer Heritage Conservation Trust, Viking Sportsmen, Flint Hills Resources and the McKnight Foundation.
WHEN: Kickoff ceremony will be Saturday, September 11, 2010 at 1:30 pm. Following the project kickoff celebration everyone is invited to attend the Christina-Ina-Anka Lake Association’s annual fund-raiser dinner at the Melby Outpost in nearby Melby, Minn. from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
WHERE: Lake Christina public access in northeastern Grant County at the intersection of Highway 82 and County Road 57 approximately 2 miles southeast of Ashby, Minnesota. Travel 2 miles southeast of Ashby on Highway 82, turn left (north) on County Road 57 to the access.
Ducks Unlimited is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 12 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.
Tags: Douglas, Grant, Lake Christina, Lakes Journal
